The winners are...

After an unsophisticated allocating of Scrabble letters (according to the order the comments were received) which were then thrown into an old pudding bowl, the winners are Bountifully's lovely Tracey, who's got the bronze leather bag, and Harmony & Rosie's also-lovely Kate, who'll soon be able to tout an orange koala around the streets of London should she so wish.

Thanks to everyone who entered. My other bags particularly thank you as they have a little more elbow room in the cupboard.

I'm planning a trip to the post office on Friday so Tracey and Kate would you drop me an email with your addresses please.

ps. Kate, I always liked the koala bag against navy or dark blue so should go well with the dress you're wearing in today's post!

If you're reading this...
Sally and beezneez, I'm very sorry but I didn't include either of you in the draw as your comments weren't published by blogger for some unknown reason. I've just noticed them now on my gmail account, ie, after the draw. This isn't the first time this has happened, unfortunately, and my queries to blogger have never been answered. I do wish they'd fix this glitch up. Again, apologies.

Bag giveaway

I'm giving two bags away, actually, but bags giveway just sounded wrong.

Truth be told, I haven't been doing deals with designers to bring you fabulous bargains. Something far more self-serving. Yesterday's cleaning frenzy included a bedroom cupboard, so I'm now looking for two people to help me keep my house tidy.

I bought both of these bags some years ago from Francesca Rockette, who used to have a regular stall at Paddington Markets. Like them as I might, I know I'm not going to use them again and was hoping there was someone - or two someones - who would like to give them a bit of love.

One is bronze leather, with a pretty paisley fabric lining, and the other is a lined-fabric shoulder bag (there's an emu on the other side).

If you'd like a chance at one, leave me a comment letting me know which one and I'll choose two winners at random on Monday. Nothing more involved.

Will send anywhere.

Have a lovely weekend. x

Clean break

The house had gotten a little out of control and so I'd put aside today for a thorough clean. Turned out to be a perfect day as the rain was torrential, thunder and lighting was pummelling the skies and Sydney traffic had come to a standstill.

The Husband and Child stayed home today prompted by radio announcements recommending anyone who could should work from home today - the roads really were that bad. Not wanting to be deterred from my task, I popped back into bed (it was still early) and took this book with me. It's a trick I sometimes use on myself.

Looking at lovely clean, uncluttered rooms makes me want some too.

Coffee finished, I hit the shower and started on our bedroom, kicking The Husband out.

"Do you know it's International Women's Day today, Mum?" asked The Child. I did.

Perhaps not the best day to don an apron, in retrospect.

Edited to add: this is a lovely book with nice words, apart from one major boo-boo. One chapter opening lists the great flea markets of the world, and includes Sydney's Paddy's Market. Which is a bit 'What the?' Paddy's Market isn't a flea or vintage market. It's a fruit and veg market with a side of cheap and nasty stuff, including badly made designer knock offs. Gave me a good laugh, though. Believe me, if one of the world's great flea markets was a couple of kilometres from my house, I'd be there all the time. I haven't been to Paddy's in years...

Homemade gozleme

Last night's dinner snapped moments before it was devoured.

Homemade gozleme is so easy to make. All ingredients are in bold.

• Put 200g full-fat plain yoghurt in a bowl and sift 250g plain flour, 3 tsps baking powder and a pinch of salt on top.
• Mix with a wooden spoon and then finish off with your hand.
• Knead dough for a couple of minutes (I don't even bother taking the ingredients out of the big bowl I use) until dough is no longer sticky.
• Put dough in a clean bowl lightly oiled with olive oil and cover with cling film. Leave for about an hour.
• Divide dough into four balls.
• Roll each ball into a dinner-plate-sized circle.
• Place washed-and-dried spinach leaves on one half of each circle.
• Crumble feta over spinach.
• Fold the other side of dough over mixture and pinch edges together before sealing with a fork.
• Fry each one in a pan with olive oil for a few minutes each side until golden brown.
• Remove from pan, cut and serve with lemon, salt and pepper.

I cook two at a time in a large frying pan. As the base becomes firm when it's cooked, these are super-easy to turn.

Black Beauty

She may not have a mane, but my Black Beauty does have gears unlike my first bike love Apricot.

Apricot, a fixed-gear bike, was perfect on flat ground. As much as I tried to convice myself otherwise, getting up even a small hill was a hard slog - and we live at the highest point in our suburb so everything bar the corner shop involved more than a little pedal-power.

I told myself it was good for me, which I'm sure it was, but it was also impractical as I found myself using Apricot less and less and not at all in summer. Why young hipsters actually seek out fixed-gear bikes I do not know. Not being a hipster, either young or old, I don't understand. The only thing about fixed-gear bikes that appeal to me are the price but, apparently, you can still pay ludicrous amounts for them. I don't pretend to understand.

So Apricot has been sold to a film company to be used as a prop (minus the basket, I kept that) something she's well suited for as she's exceedingly pretty.

Black Beauty was surprisingly affordable as there's so many more of these types of bikes on the market now. She came from Woolys Wheels in Paddington, as they have a big range and you can road test before you buy, which I was determined to do this time round.

True love.

Stitched up

Never again should I have trouble trying a new stitch for a crochet rug, thanks to the book I bought today. See the blue, white and yellow cushion in the pic in the background? I've been wanting to make that cushion for a while but it was just a prop as the pattern in that book was for the ripple blanket (which I did make and was easy to follow).

Thanks to my new book, though, I now know how to do it.

And lots of other repetitions too.

250 in fact - and all in lovely UK/Australian terminology. And all in both words and diagrams. I almost punched the air in the bookshop but pulled myself together just in time. The colour combinations are fairly attrocious but I'll forgive this otherwise seemingly perfect book. Basic Crochet Stitches, $30, from Kinokuniya. Can be found much cheaper online, if you're that way inclined, but I personally had to have it on the spot.

I should never have trouble crocheting a rug again. But, as James Bond once said, never say never. Or was it Justin Bieber? That doesn't bode well...

Kicking autumn

It's the first day of autumn, and I can feel my clothing mindset changing to visions of long sleeves and cardigans in shades of plum and olive, even though it's about 30 degrees outside.

Am thinking all those colours, not unlike the top of my coffee table, should go nicely with my new Funkis clogs.

I was wearing them for the first time the other day when The Husband's business partner remarked that his mum used to be a pharmacist and would wear them to work back in the day. Not quite the look I was going for. Maybe I'll only wear them to Swedish design shops.

Truth is, though, I've also got my eye on the gold sandals. Just the thing for kicking through fallen autumn leaves.